Uncertainty
by DangoCorn
Summary: Robin would never actually betray her nakama...especially after they proved how important she was to them in Enies Lobby. Or...would she?
1. Remorse

**Helloooooooo 8D!**

**-Pokes Robin- u fab kk ;-;!**

**This happens after the event in Enies Lobby. And I don't own the display pic. It's super pretty!**

**Okkk less gooooooo c:!**

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**Robin POV**

I woke up in our crew's shark submarine, feeling utterly confused. But it didn't take very long until everything hit me. I felt a lump form in my throat as I looked down at my hand, which was gripping tightly on an axe. The Sunny was swaying back and forth wildly. It was nighttime.

Holding the axe weakly, I made my way out of the submarine and onto the deck. Everyone was in their sleepwear, holding big pales and emptying our ship from tons of water that had leaked in. I dropped the axe onto the hard wood and struggled to speak.

"Minna," I called out, my voice barely reaching them above all the racket.

"Ah, Nico Robin," Franky said, "Help us out, would y-"

His gruff voice faded away as he stared at the fallen weapon. He swallowed hard, picking it up and examining it.

"Oi…" he began, "Where did you find this?"

I shook my head. Memories and events swarmed in my mind, one after the other. I began to breathe harder subconsciously.

_I would... never…_

Franky's usual cheerful face was now dark and worried. He took the axe and proceeded with helping the crew empty the ship. Once I'd regained my focus, I sprouted arms from the railings and helped them out. It took us more than a couple of hours to save the Sunny, but it hadn't taken very much time for Franky to fix up the holes that had caused the water to leak.

Everyone sleepily made their way to the kitchen. My stomach turned as I felt Franky's eyes on me.

"So…what the heck happened?" Zoro asked before yawning. Nami shrugged, struggling to keep her eyes open.

"No clue…maybe a school of sharks did it or something…" she replied.

"I doubt it was a school of fish," Franky said, eyeing me. The crew turned their attention to him.

"The holes that were made seemed to be caused by a sword," he began before putting his sunglasses on again, "Or an axe of some sort."

"Yeah, I noticed that, too," Usopp added, "Really weird."

I felt another pair of eyes on me. It was Zoro, looking at me a bit curiously. I guessed it was because I barely stayed quiet when it came to solving mysteries. Apparently, Nami had noticed my silence as well.

"What do you think happened, Robin?" she inquired.

"Oi, Sanji. Food!" Luffy bellowed.

"It's past midnight, you goof," Sanji replied, making his captain a snack nonetheless.

I swallowed hard, preventing myself from shaking. The wind blew wildly outside, passing through a small crack in the door and making me shudder. The smell of Sanji's cooking slightly relaxed me, making my tense shoulders droop.

"I believe," I began, feeling the knot in my stomach return, "I know who caused this."

"Good! Then I'll make sure to kick their ass for hurting Sunny!" Luffy announced.

"Yeah, and for almost drowning us," Nami added, much more awake now.

"The medical books I store downstairs are soaked wet," Chopper complained as he made himself comfortable on Zoro's lap.

"Well, who do you think it is?" Nami asked.

"Me," I said.

Luffy and Usopp's laughter subsided. Sanji stopped stirring his dish. I looked down at my hands, unable to look any of them in the eye. The silence was broken by Nami.

"Robin," she said, an uncertain laugh escaping her throat, "Don't be ridiculous."

"Yeah you…you're just messing with us," Usopp stammered. Chopper's eyes began to water.

I held back the tears that threatened to fall and spoke up again.

"I'm not joking," I told them, my voice cracking. "I was the one to hurt Sunny."

Luffy got up, walked over to me, and forced me to look him in the eye. I sensed no disappointment or suspect in him whatsoever.

"No, you're not," he said. The guilt inside of me doubled. "Don't say that."

Zoro picked Chopper up, placed him on the bench, and exited the kitchen. I had never imagined that an action that simple could hurt so much.

A week passed. Two weeks. And still, everyone refused to believe that I'd done it, despite the fact that I'd admitted to it myself. It was infuriating. They acted completely normal around me, which only increased my guilt. My mind was never focused on the books I read, or the food I ate. Once question buzzed in my head constantly.

Why?

The strange thing was, I had a clear memory of me looking through Franky's tools, taking out the axe, and making massive damage to our ship, then climbing safely into the shark submarine. The scene was as clear as day in my mind, but for some reason, I had no recollection of what I was feeling or thinking during that time.

"Robin, come read a book with me!" Chopper had suddenly appeared, interrupting my line of thoughts. I looked over at him, fidgeting uncomfortably in my chair.

"I'm afraid I don't feel up to it," I told him. He opened his mouth to say something else but then changed his mind and walked into the men's quarters.

"I brought you a cup of freshly squeezed oranges, my Mellorine!" Sanji swooned next, placing the glass cup onto a table beside me before leaving. I couldn't help but look at it distastefully. I ended up not drinking it. It didn't take very long for the ice to melt entirely, leaving the juice watered down and not so fresh anymore.

"I wish they would stop," I whispered to myself before getting up and setting the book onto my chair. I heard the kitchen door open again, but this time, no one approached me, which was a relief. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Zoro. Even though the way most of them spoke to me so kindly didn't feel good, the silence of Zoro somehow felt worse.

I felt very lost. I never wanted to leave them, ever. They were the nakama I'd always wished for. The anger I felt towards myself was indescribable. But, eventually, the guilt would take over me, and when that time came, I didn't know what would happen.


	2. Frustration

**Time for Zoro c:!**

**Thank you for all the great support 8D!**

**Zoro's POV**

I didn't believe it and wasn't planning on believing it. Despite that, I didn't want to talk to her, or even be near her. Robin, the one between us who was best at hiding what she felt, wasn't able to restrain her guilty expression. It was always on her face, and it made me angry. She would never betray us, but the fact that she admitted it to us confused the heck out of me. No one would make a bunch of holes in someone's ship then help out with fixing it afterwards. None of it made sense to me and I wished someone could slap some sense into her. There was just absolutely no way she would've done it, there had to me _something_ behind this.

In spite of that, something inside of me was plain hurt. It made me feel childish.

"Dammit," I whispered, setting the weights down too recklessly and causing the windows of the crow's nest to shake. In usual circumstances, I would be pretty careful spying on Robin, but she was in a state that didn't allow her to even sense someone watching her. I peered out of the windows and found her kneeling over the railing rather clumsily, which was a sight I never got to see. She really was out of it lately.

"Zoro?" Usopp appeared suddenly. _Tch…look who's talking…I didn't even hear him come up the stairs._ "We're docked."

I nodded, following him down the stairs after putting my shirt on. Everyone was all ready to get off the ship. Nami walked over to Robin, putting her hand on her shoulder, which made Robin tense.

"Do you wanna come with us?" Nami asked, an almost pleading look on her face. Robin shifted away, causing Nami's hand to drop off her shoulder.

"I'd rather stay here," Robin replied, looking away. Nami sighed before jumping onto the railing to follow Luffy and the rest.

"Okay well…we're off," she said before disappearing off the ship.

"ROBIN!" Luffy shouted from outside the ship. "We'll bring you some meat, so be happy!"

"Yeah," Robin whispered, her usual amused smile completely gone. "Take care."

The way she said it sounded a lot like a farewell, which automatically made me feel protective. I shut my eyes, instantly feeling ridiculous. Of course…why didn't any of us consider this? She's planning on running away. Again. I fixed my katana on my waist and decided to stay on the ship. I avoided any kind of eye contact with her, since I knew if I did; the look would probably not be so kind. If she felt any sort of frustration caused by my presence, she didn't show it.

"Zoro," she said after what seemed like an hour of silence. I shook my head in response, my eyes still closed. It took a while until she spoke up again.

"I can't stay," she told me. _Heh…so you decide to be straight forward this time._

"I don't know what's going on in your mind," I finally replied, "but you're not guilty of anything. Stop acting this way."

I could sense an angry aura coming from her, even though I was sitting on the other side of the deck and had my eyes closed. I heard glass breaking, which caused me to crack an eye open. The glass of water she had in her hand was now shattered onto the deck, the water splattered everywhere.

"Then why do I have a perfect memory of it?" she said, her voice study but cold. She started walking closer to me. "Explain that to me."

"I can't do that," I simply told her, "But I'm more than sure you didn't do it. And if you did, it wasn't of your own will."

She clenched her teeth. "Why are you so sure?"

"The tears you shed in Enies Lobby are all I need to be sure," I answered her. She tensed. "And I doubt you yourself understand why you did it, supposing you had."

Her anger increased. She walked faster towards me and crossed her arms, sprouting some from my sides and back. I didn't even allow myself to stiffen, to prove to her how much trust we actually had in her.

"If you don't defend yourself," she said, her voice loud and threatening. "I can simply snap you in half."

She was trying hard to make me mad, to make me lose my trust in her. It was starting to irritate me deeply.

"You're not gonna snap me in half, Robin," I replied, standing up. I walked towards her, ignoring the hands that she tightened around my neck and torso. Feeling a bit dumb as I thought of what I was about to do, I grabbed one of her hands and gently squeezed it, which took her by surprise and caused her hands to disappear into flower pedals. As I got closer, she hesitantly backed away.

"Promise me," I said as I lifted my hand and placed it on her head. I saw Ero-cook do this move to Nami and thought why not…Nami didn't seem to mind it much. "Not to leave."

Her anger subsided and an expression of pure longing was etched on her face. I quickly took my hand off her head and backed away.

"Uh…" I began, clearing my throat. It was clear she was giving it her best not to tear up, and it made me feel more than a little awkward. As if suddenly realizing how forward I had acted, I turned away and walked towards the crow's nest.

_Walk away walk away walk away._

I unintentionally slammed the door shut and squinted at the windows blankly.

"Well this is just great," I whispered.


	3. Promise me

**C8 Heh the chapters are really short… Sorry D;! Thank you for the support c:!**

**{Two points of views}**

**Robin POV**

I placed my hand on my head and swallowed hard.

Why did he have to do that… This only made my departure harder.

I pushed myself away from the railing only to be pulled back by a strong hand, and was immediately handcuffed. I struggled to break free, but I was soon dragged away from the Sunny. As soon as I opened my mouth to yell out, the owner's hand clapped onto my mouth, momentarily causing me to stop breathing. The instant the Sunny was out of sight, my capturer stopped walking. I turned around to face him. My eyes widened as I figured out who it was.

"Alden," I whispered, clenching my fists. He was a very normal sized man, with dark blue hair and extremely sad looking eyes. He had wild yellow pants on and a bright orange blazer. You would think he was an ordinary magician or some crazy trickster. That was, until you found out what he could do to you if you happened to do something that wasn't of his liking.

"Hel-lo," he greeted me with a smile. I averted my eyes away from him.

"You don't need to grip me that hard," I said, freeing myself of him. He cocked his head in attempt to look innocent.

"How are you feeling? About what you've done, I mean," he asked with a very fake sympathetic look on his face. I felt my stomach turn. How did he know?

"Right now, I think it's better for you to be answering my questions. What are you here for?"

He shrugged and put his hands in his pants pockets. "I want you to be on my side, of course. You're extremely clever, you've got quite the strength for a woman, and very manipulative. A perfect addition."

_Promise me._

"I'm aware I don't have a say in this now," I said, gesturing to my cuffed hands. "But know that even if you do take me with you, I am not on your side."

He gave me a warm smile, but his eyes betrayed him. "As you wish, Nico."

I followed him to his ship, which wasn't at all big, but very well-made and sturdy. I knew. I knew his motive wasn't only to have a clever or strong woman on his crew. He wanted me for the same reason each pirate crew and organization wanted me: for being a scholar from Ohara. As he escorted me onto his ship, I was surprised to see how little his crew was. A woman with short, bright red hair sat in the crow's nest. I could see a bright silver sword hung on her back. Her piercing gaze followed me as I walked across the deck.

"Ehhhh," she said, the corners of her lips curling upwards wickedly. "So _this_ is the infamous devil child. G'job, old man. Didn't take you long to get her."

"That's Adira, my faithful vice-captain," Alden explained before a pout appeared on his lips. "I'm_ not_ an old man!

He led me onto a long staircase that took us to the basement of the ship. A man with a top hat sat quietly in front of a wide, dark room. His eyes were big, round, and very blue. He was tapping quietly on a log pose that was wrapped around his thick wrist. Quite similar to Nami's.

"This is our navigator, Zane. He's very talkative, but slightly shy at first. Be friendly to each other," Alden said, gesturing to the door of the room. "Nico, you'll be staying in there until I feel you're ready to come out. We're leaving this island in an hour. Have fun!"

And with that, he merrily skipped away.

"H-Hi," Zane greeted, now fiddling nervously with the log pose. I gave him a cool stare before walking into the room and closing the door. Such a strange group of people.

"I'm always…here for a talk!" he said through the keyhole. I sighed, plunking on the floor and staring at the handcuffs that were uncomfortably tight. My eyes stung, and I realized how much the entire event had affected me. I'd never been the type to easily break into tears. My memory was fuzzy, and it frustrated me how confused I was. Why…_Why_ couldn't I remember my motive from that night?!

**Zoro POV**

"Zoro?!" someone burst into the crow's nest, causing me to fling my eyes open and clutch my katana. I sighed irrtably when I noticed it was only Nami.

"What?!" I snapped, lounging back comfortably. Nami's eyes furrowed in anger as she stomped towards me.

"_Where is Robin?!_" she asked with a whimper. My stomach did a 360 degree flip. I'd over slept, which had given her a chance to leave. I got up and ran down the crow's nest before scanning the deck. She was nowhere, and I didn't bother looking in the library. I could see the door of it wide open. Clearly someone had already looked.

"DAMMIT!" I yelled, slamming my fist into the mast. The crew was now staring at me worriedly. Luffy walked over to me, a firm look plastered on his face. I was dumb enough to think I had the slightest bit of affect on her by what I said, and that thought itself made my temper rise.

"We'll get her back," Luffy told me reassuringly before turning to face the whole crew. "She did _not_ betray us."

Everyone nodded in agreement. I let out a huff before Franky came forward, lifted his shades off his eyes, and gave us all an apologizing look.

"I uh," he stuttered. "When I first saw her…with the axe. I was quick to doubt her. I'm sorry."

Luffy gave his shipwright a smile. "You've only been with us for a couple of weeks. Don't worry about it, Franky!"

I felt a rush of annoyance as I swiftly walked towards the kitchen, but was blocked by the leg of Swirly-brow. Rolling my eyes, I gave him an impatient glance.

"What?" I said.

"Robin-chan listens," he told me, causing me to shake my head in confusion. He let out a puff of smoke. "I was still near the ship collecting fruit when you talked to her and I heard you. It wasn't in vain."

I steeled myself before maneuvering around his leg.

_Let's just hope he's right._


	4. Tingling Tears

**HEY 8D!**

**So my friend and I wanted to join this competition that the bookstore "Readers" hosted, which is pretty much just writing a short story between 2000-4000 words, either in English or Arabic. Yesterday was the last day to hand in the stories, and I only had about 800 words written, so my friend and I desperately tried getting to 2000 words in less than an hour, since it was after 11. LOL. IT WAS QUITE INTERESTING, SEEING WHAT WE COULD WRITE IN ONLY THAT AMOUNT OF TIME.**

**We ended up handing it in at about 20-30 minutes after 12, so our stories might not even enter the competition.**

**BUT IT WAS STILL PRETTY FUN TO SEE WHAT WE'D COME UP WITH C8. At a certain point in my story, I ended up describing doughnuts. Yup, I was pretttyyy desperate. LOL.**

**WELL, THAT ASIDE, HERE'S THE NEXT CHAPTER C:!**

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**Robin POV**

Adira let out a titter as she opened the door to the dark room. She was holding a big tray full of rather fancy food. "Food from the captain."

I shifted away from her, causing her smug smile to double in size. "Does that man truly think he can make me feel welcomed by offering me that?"

The red-head simply placed the tray down by me and gave an exaggerated shrug.

"Personally speaking, I don't think you deserve such kind treatment. But Alden thinks otherwise, so I've got no say in this. If you wanna starve, go right ahead. But do know we're not on shore anymore. It's pretty much impossible for you to return to your nakama."

My heart tugged at the word _nakama. _Adira's eyes glittered with anticipation as she leaned on the creaky door. Out of the blue, memories of the past hit me, causing me to avert my eyes from her and blank out. Scenes of Crocodile mercilessly stabbing Luffy in the guts buzzed in my mind, with me merely standing there, doing nothing to stop him. Why was I remembering that? The guilt made me feel nauseous. Adira gave me a look of pity before clicking her tongue and turning to leave.

"_He can be so ruthless sometimes,"_ she whispered as she shut the door behind her. I rested my forehead on my knees, desperately trying to clear my mind. I felt a stinging sensation in my eyes. Slowly, tears ran down my cheeks, spotting the skirt I'd absentmindedly worn that morning. The frustration I was starting to feel caused me to push away the tray of food across the room. I silently apologized to Sanji for that before tilting my head back on the cold wood, feeling utterly disheartened.

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**Zoro POV**

Everyone was desperately trying to find some sort of clue as to where she might've gone. Usopp and Luffy had gone onto the island to look for her, and the rest of us stayed on the ship either being eaten alive by concern, or trying to keep ourselves busy.

"What's that?" Franky wondered, squinting at a small figure in the distance. I followed his gaze, finally able to make something out. It was a ship.

Nami came running towards us, her face suddenly filled with hope. She pointed frantically at the ship before yelling, "Follow it!"

"HAAAAAI~" came the voice of love-machine. Chopper turned into his human form and dashed in the direction of the steering wheel, immediately obeying Nami's orders.

"Oi," I said, plodding towards her. "What about Luffy and Usopp?"

She simply walked to the railing and shouted at the top of her lungs. "LUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUFFYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!"

"Ahh, Nami-san, your voice is music to my ears!" Sanji swooned, falling helplessly onto the long grass that covered Sunny's deck. I clapped my ears shut.

"I'm right beside you, damn witch!" I snapped irritably. She simply stuck out her tongue, threatening to raise my already exceedingly high debt. It barely took a couple of minutes for both Luffy and Usopp to appear on the beach, calling out to us and waving wildly.

"Oi, Luffy! Climb onto the ship properly, you always make a total mess when you-" Nami got cut off as our cooperating captain flung onto the ship, knocking her over and slamming into the, fortunately, sturdy mass. Franky groaned in frustration.

"YOU BLOCKHEAD!' Nami raged, throwing a punch at Luffy that could've knocked a dozen marines out. He whined, rubbing his sore head.

"Alright, minna," she said, recovering rather quickly. "Since these two clearly had no luck finding Robin on the island, I vote we follow that ship. It doesn't look like a marine ship, or an ordinary fisherman's boat. It's just a hunch, but I think Robin might be on board it."

For an unclear reason, I had the same feeling. Luffy knitted his eyebrows before giving his navigator a thumbs up.

"Yosh! We'll follow that ship!" he announced with a grin.

"Y-Yeah! We'll get Robin back n-no matter what!" Usopp managed to say, causing Chopper to goggle at him in admiration. The crew continued readying the ship to set sail. The Sunny swiftly turned towards the distant ship and began its journey.

I decided to spend a little time meditating before we reached it and climbed up to the crow's nest, only to be welcomed by a small bundle of fur sitting quietly on the bench.

"Oh, Chopper," I said, mildly surprised he was here. "Someone took over the steering?"

"Yeah…" he said halfheartedly, "Sanji did."

I nodded briefly, settling down on the hard wood in a cross-legged position and closing my eyes. I could hear Chopper's reluctant steps as he walked closer to me, causing me to open my eyes and look at him.

"Something wrong?" I asked. Chopper nodded before plopping in front of me and sighing.

"I don't doubt Robin at all," he explained, his voice small. "But I'm scared she won't wanna come back with us. I don't know why she's acting this way; she would never hurt any of us. But if I were to do something to any of you, I wouldn't know what to do with myself. And the guilt that showed in her eyes looked so real…"

I thought Chopper's words over. I hadn't put myself in Robin's shoes, and doing so made me understand what he was saying. But Robin leaving the crew was out of the question. We all knew the truth, even though she insisted on being the one to betray us. I cleared my throat before giving Chopper a crooked smile.

"Listen," I told him. "We'll wreck whatever's making her doubt herself like this. And when that happens, whether she likes it or not, she's coming back with us. Our crew would never be complete without that pessimist bookworm."

The look of agitation melted off Chopper's face. He was such a worrywart. He bounced off the floor and onto my face, his fur causing me to almost suffocate, but he soon positioned himself on top of my head.

"Zoro, you're amazeballs," he said. I raised an eyebrow in amusement at the word he had used.

"Let's do our best, little guy," I said before closing my eyes again.


	5. Giving in

**Helloo! Thank you for the encouraging support C:! And this should stop happening, but yet again, I forgot to answer a guest-reviewer. Sorry D;!**

**Guest: Glad you like it so much 8D! Hmmmmmm –places thumb and index finger on chin- 8 We'll see!**

**OK. SHALL WE?**

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**Robin POV**

It took us a little more than a day to finally dock on an island which, to my surprise, was inhabited and very lively. I was expecting to be dropped off on an abandoned, dark land of some sort. I supposed reading the little bedtime stories to Chopper forced me to always anticipate something such as that. The small crew of Alden escorted me out of the ship. As I walked and thought of how unexpectedly fun it was to read Chopper short stories on stormy nights, the smallest hint of a smile made its way on my face, despite the situation. I felt Alden's gaze on me, and immediately the cheery memory dissolved, as though having the slightest moment of happiness wasn't allowed.

Adira quickly wrapped a cape around my shoulders to hide the handcuffs that were threatening to pierce my wrists. I cocked an eyebrow at her as I understood her purpose. The villagers that we passed gave us kind looks, which Alden returned with waves and little greetings.

"Gotta gain their trust, we don't want anyone to have any suspicions," Adira whispered to me before giving an old man a smile. She tilted her head towards me once more. "Kind of like what you had to do with your nakama. Get them to trust you, and then _boom_. Let it all collapse with a single betrayal."

A chill ran down my entire body before I stopped walking.

"Oi," Alden whispered harshly. "Get a move on."

"M-miss…if you could hurry up," Zane, their shy navigator, requested quietly. An overwhelming feeling formed in my throat. A scream…a plea…a cry. Whatever it was ended up coming out as an overflowing river of tears that surged down my cheeks. My legs wavered before I let myself slump onto the ground, giving in to the misery that had been imprisoned for too long. Villagers gathered around me in concern. Adira put a hand on my shoulder, which caused my blood to boil in rage.

But I was unable to say a word. Because in the end, it all no longer mattered. I'd betrayed them, and knew how unhappy I would be for a long, long time.

_The despair might very possibly stay until the day I die._

I closed my eyes before all the light around me dissolved into darkness.

_I'm so, so sorry_

…_..._

I woke up with a jerk, and was welcomed by the irritatingly sad eyes of Alden. He was standing quietly in front of the bed I lay in. Before saying anything, I scanned the room I was in. I concluded we were in some sort of house, and the room I was staying in was unnaturally fancy. A large chandelier hung from the roof. The wobbling of it made it seem as though it were only minutes before it collapsed. The floors were covered in dark red fabric, and the bed I was laying in could fit more than three grown men.

Alden gave me a smile before walking closer to me, making me stiffen in response.

"Are you not satisfied?" he asked, a cryptic twinkle in his eyes.

"Satisfaction isn't what I desire," I told him. He laughed loudly before leaning in.

"We all want satisfaction, Nico."

He took a step back, letting out a mocking sigh. "It's certainly clear you're a strong-willed woman. But I assure you, that will of yours will be gone in a blink of an eye."

He headed towards the door before looking back at me and winking. The door shut behind him, and the regretful memories enveloped my mind, as though to prove his point.

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**Zoro POV**

"What's with all this fog?!" Usopp asked. I leaned against the railing, squinting to try to make out the ship that we'd been following. We'd stayed too far behind so as not to be caught, but look where that got us. Nami sighed irritably before squeezing in between Usopp and me.

"I'll handle it!" she snapped, waving her hands to shoo us away. She grabbed a pair of binoculars from Usopp's pocket, which took him by surprise.

"Oi! I've got plenty of old ones, but _that_ one, don't touch!" Usopp complained, only to be ignored. Chopper soon joined in on his complaints, to prove he wasn't ignored completely. I watched Nami as she looked through them, struggling to see. She groaned in frustration before raising the binoculars up.

"OIII! LUFFY!" she yelled. Luffy looked back at her as he sat on Sunny's head.

"See if you can catch a glimpse of anything with these!" she said, throwing them harshly towards him. Usopp wailed, running after them in desperation, but was happy to see that Luffy had good reflexes. I exhaled in annoyance as I looked away, trying to clear my ridiculously busy mind. Despite the concern I was feeling, I had a stubborn anger that was constantly nagging me. And what was more frustrating, is that I wasn't sure why it was there. Sure, I was pretty mad at the fact that she simply left, especially since I gave that speech of mine. Usually the anger would fade in less than a few minutes, but this time it stayed. And it was annoying as hell, because every time I thought of her, I either felt really concerned, or really furious.

Franky walked out of the kitchen, chugging a large cola bottle down. I instantly looked away, since for some reason, whenever I looked at him, anger seemed to come stand by my side again. The look he'd given her before she confessed to doing harm to the Sunny – which no one's convinced of- was harsh. I knew he didn't deserve to be avoided, since like Luffy had said, it wasn't very long ago that he joined the crew. It was only natural for him to suspect her. Instead of accidentally giving him glares, which would be pretty unfair of me, I decided to take a nap.

I pushed myself off the railing and stomped across the deck towards the men's quarters. As I was about to close the door behind me, Chopper peeked his head from the small crack in the door.

"Zoro? Is something wrong?" he asked, blinking repetitively in worry. I waved my hand dismissively.

"Nah, I'm fine," I said. "Just wanted to get a little sl-"

"IIIIIISLAAAAAAAND!" Luffy shot out at the top of his lungs.

_Heh, I guess a nap will have to wait. _


	6. We're Nakama!

**HEL-LO! Thank you for the reviews 8D!**

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**Robin POV**

It felt like an eternity in that bedroom. I stared out the window and observed the island we docked on. The big mansion we were in was very well blended between the other houses that surrounded it, which was unnerving. It all looked so peaceful and active, but the bright aura that the mansion gave only hid the truth that lay within it.

The door creaked open and in peaked Adira's head. "This way, Nico."

I silently walked towards her and out the door, following her through the ridiculously long halls. The walls were covered with pictures of Alden, in both dramatic and dumb poses.

"He's pretty fond of himself," Adira said, as if reading my mind. I could see a faint smile on her face. As we reached the end of the hall, we entered a room three times fancier than the one I'd been in. I sighed in irritation at the sight that welcomed us.

"Nico," Alden greeted, lounging on a couch. I freed myself from Adira's grip and walked towards him.

"What is it that you want?" I hissed. An amused smile ran across his face before he got up and stood in front of me.

"I don't think keeping me in a room for days is doing you any good," I continued. "What's your purpose?"

"One word," he said, leaning in towards me. "Po-ne-glyph!"

"You expect me to read it to you?" I asked, a tad bit of sarcasm thrown in.

"Yes."

"Oh, do you?"

"I do," he said. He raised his hand, smiling contently. "I have a power you fear, Nico. You're the most vulnerable person I have ever encountered."

I clenched my teeth. _Vulnerable?_

"And what power is that?" I asked, struggling to keep my calm.

His laugh echoed through the entire mansion. "Now if I told you _that_, my work would've been in vein. And as for keeping you in that room, you're free to walk around the mansion as you please. But, of course, those handcuffs aren't going away. I am aware of how strong you are."

"My sweet Adira kindly researched about this island," he explained. "And she found out about a very, very important poneglyph that we spent two weeks looking for. It has information that we've wanted for a long time. We finally found it, and that's when we decided you were the perfect add to our crew."

"Now," he said, grabbing a flower necklace from the side of the couch and slipping it around my neck, which made me cringe in disgust. "This island's beautiful, why not enjoy it? We're going on a…_walk_. Do escort her out, Adira."

I could feel Adira's piercing gaze on me as she led me out the door after once again wrapping the cloak around me, followed by Alden and Zane. We passed the same village again, and many of them stopped us to ask how I was doing. I was so tired of feeling guilty that I didn't even respond to any of their concerned questions.

Regret seemed to suddenly attack me, filling my mind with unwanted memories, which caused me to waver. Adira grabbed my arm before I fell. She gave Alden a scolding look.

"Might you wait until we get there? It'd be nice if we got there with no trouble," she said. Alden laughed, waving his hands in an apologetic way.

"What does that mean?" I asked, stopping in my tracks and shaking my arm for Adira to let go. "What are you doing?"

A look of irritation etched on Alden's face as he grabbed me by my shoulders and forced me to walk in front of him. His grip was so hard I was hardly able to shake myself in attempt to get away from him.

"We haven't got much time, captain," Zane said, looking behind him in worry. _What in the world was going on…_

"I know that!" Alden snapped, picking up his pace as he pushed me along with him. He led us through a forest that seemed endless. When he suddenly decided to stop, we were completely surrounded by thick trees, the village out of sight. I looked around, searching for the poneglyph.

"Confused, are you?" Alden asked as he walked towards a big rock that was entirely covered with thick vines and cobwebs. _So that's where it is._

He grabbed the vines and pulled them off mercilessly until the writing was wholly revealed. Smiling, he led me to it.

"Read it, Nico," he ordered. I showed no expression as I stood there, unwilling to read it, despite my uncontrolled interest and desire to.

"READ IT!" he yelled, his cracking voice revealing a plea. As I once again refused, he raised his hand and gave it a swift flick in the air. I placed my hand on the poneglyph to keep my balance as my mind overflowed with distressing memories.

_I'll kick you out of the crew myself if I see you making any moves, understand?_

_Never stand beside me._

_She's too dangerous to be on the crew!_

_Don't worry guys, she isn't a bad person!_

"Yes, I am…" I whispered to myself as I felt gravity increase, pulling me to the ground in despair.

"You can be free of this anguish, Nico," Alden soothed. "Read it to me, and you can be free. I promise you."

I was so, so tempted to accept his deal. I wanted to do anything to get rid of the limitless guilt I was feeling.

…..

**Zoro POV**

"We're not splitting up this time," Nami said, the worry in her voice as clear as day. "If my predicament was correct and she came to this island, she's going to need us all to be there. But we need at least two people to stay and watch Sunny."

Everyone was silent, since we all wanted to be there for her. No one wanted to stay behind. Nami sighed in defeat.

"We'll pull strings," she suggested. The crew mumbled their agreements.

"One," she began, her arm stretched out as she gripped on the strings tightly.

"Two…Three," she finished. We all pulled out the strings. I heaved a sigh of relief, since mine was a long one. I was safe.

"Dammit," Nami whispered as she stared at the short string in her hand. She looked up and saw that Sanji was gripping on a short string as well. His face showed both disappointment and content, if that was even possible.

"Better get her back safe, understand, marimo?!" he snapped before wiggling his way towards Nami. "I'll keep you out of harm's way my Melloriiine!~"

"Ask around if you see any people," Nami requested. The rest of us hopped off the ship and onto the island. Luffy, who seemed pretty okay all the way to the island, was now stomping his way angrily into the village. I quickened my pace until I was beside him. He gave me a quick glance.

"What's on your mind, sencho?" I said. He gave me a huff as he clenched his fists.

"I'm mad at Robin," he said, as straightforward as ever. "I'm really, _really_ mad at her."

I averted my eyes from him and looked straight ahead. "Yeah. I know."

"Why is she doubting herself so much?! She didn't betray us!" he almost yelled.

"We're Nakama!"

* * *

**A/N: Incase anyone was confused, the memories she was having were of the time she first joined and what some of the crewmembers said to her. Kk ty for reading C:!**


	7. Declaration

**Thank you for the reviews c: The two loyal reviewers I have, I'm very thankful to you 8D And everyone else, as well!**

**I haven't watched One Piece in months ;-; I miss it! *Is collecting episodes***

**GOTTA BE STRONG AND WAIT!**

* * *

**Zoro POV**

Franky and Usopp kept busy asking any person that we passed if they'd seen Robin. Some said no. Some said yes, but didn't know where she was. And some gave us nervous glances and walked away, refusing to answer us.

"Have you seen Robin?" Luffy asked an old man. I gave him a slight punch on the head.

"He's not gonna know who you're talking about if that's all you say, baka," I said before turning to the villager. "She's uh…tall. Black hair?"

The old man gave us a cocked eyebrow. "I'm gonna need a little more detail than that, sonny. How tall? Taller than you?"

I breathed in. "Yes. She's taller than me."

I resisted the impulse to give the man a punch on the face when I heard him chuckle. _So _Robin was taller than me. Big deal.

"Blue eyes," Usopp said. I couldn't for the life of me recall what she was wearing. I wasn't a man to observe such things.

"She has a pointy nose," Chopper offered.

"She's _superrrrrr_ pretty," Franky piped out. The villager scrunched his nose in thought before his eyes brightened in recollection.

"AH! Yes! I saw that woman. She had a complete breakdown, I'm telling ya," he said with a slight hint of mocking in his statement. I flashed him a glare before taking a step closer towards him.

"Where is she?" I inquired. He cleared his throat before pointing towards a street not very far from where we stood.

"Keep going straight on that road, turn one right then two lefts. You'll find one heck of a gigantic house. The house chief Alden lives in," he answered before walking away. "Real good man."

Usopp made a swift jump towards me and began to lead the way. I gave him an annoyed glance but didn't protest. It wasn't my fault islands enjoyed screwing with the roads and getting me lost. As we walked, I noticed many people giving us kind looks and greetings. For some reason, the island didn't strike me as a place Robin would wanna be in on her own. But again, I had yet to know her reasons. I felt someone grab me by the collar of my shirt.

"Oi!" I snapped. It was Franky.

"You were going the wrong way, Zoro-bro," he explained before letting go. _Damn you, island_. I cursed under my breath as I followed the crew deeper into the village. It felt like Usopp was making more turns than what that man had said, but maybe it was just me.

"This should be the place," Usopp said at last, pointing to an enormous house. Why anyone would wanna live in a place that big, I never knew. We made our way to the gate, but found it sealed shut. I unsheathed my katana and was about to slash it in half when Chopper called out to me.

"Zoro, wait!" he yelled. I paused. "I can smell Robin…but it isn't coming from the house. It's really faint, but I can tell it's her."

Luffy grinned as he gave Chopper a soft shoulder punch. "Good going, Chopper!"

It's not very hard to guess what the little reindeer's reaction was to that praise. Once recovering from his cussing fit, he ran towards the woods that covered half the island, with us following closely behind. Countless number of times, Franky took the time to grab me by my collar again. It was getting irritating. Chopper stopped in his tracks and sniffed the air before perking up.

"This way…" he said, steering us to the right. I was starting to get slightly impatient with how endless the forest seemed to be, and how long it was taking for us to get to her. Finally, I started hearing something other than the low snipping sounds of crickets. I was hearing vague shouts coming from where Chopper was leading us to. With that, we quickened our paces until we, at last, reached the source of the shouts.

"Captain…" a man with a quirky hat on his head said hesitantly. I scanned the area until I found Robin. She was running her hands over a poneglyph, her eyes showing weariness and hesitation. She hardly gave us a glance. A wild-blue haired man stood next to her, giving her harsh demands. I guessed that was the man named Alden.

"_Dammit_," he growled once he spotted us. I unsheathed my katana and walked towards him.

"Oi, Zoro," Luffy said as he caught up with me. He gave Alden a piercing stare. "I'm going against him."

As if to keep me busy, a woman, who I couldn't help but notice possessed a sword that hung on her back, appeared before me. She gave me a grin before unsheathing her own sword.

"Gotta problem with my captain, Roronoa?" she asked. I refused to return the blood-thirsty grin she gave me.

"Yeah," I said, untying the black bandana that always rested on my arm and wrapping it around my head. "I have a problem with your captain."

"Hmm," she hummed, a look of fake confusion plastered on her face. She shrugged, tilting her head to the side. "I guess you'll have to deal with me, then."

I could feel Robin's gaze on me. I looked at her, desperately trying not to show the anger I was feeling. Her eyes hid an incredible amount of misery and pain. It was sudden, but she had collapsed on the floor, clutching onto her head.

"Stop…it," she whispered, her fist clenched and softly hitting the ground. I gripped onto my swords in frustration. Chopper ran towards her, but was blocked by Alden.

"Oi," Luffy hissed. He took slow steps towards him. "What are you doing to her?"

Alden laughed, flicking his hand repeatedly and making Robin's struggling increase. I gritted my teeth as I held back the urge to slice him in half. He leaned towards the poneglyph before giving us a mad smile.

"I ate the memo-memo fruit," he said. The flicking of his hand was making my blood boil. "I can control the memories of whoever I please."


	8. Rejecting a Devil

**I got the request for showing a backstory of Alden from **_**Son of Whitebeard**_**. Here it is C:!**

…

(Narrator)

Alden looked at the chaos that he and his nakama were now in. The straw hats. The damn straw hats…all he wanted was to know the history of his island. All he wanted was for that woman to read what's on the rock. Was it too much to ask?

"Alden!" Strawhat shouted, taking a fighting stance. "I'm gonna bust your ass!"

The helplessness that the blue-haired man was feeling made him smile stupidly.

He had completely ruined his life.

…..

As a child, he always, _always_ wanted to do good things. He constantly helped his family, and rarely listened to what the childish kids always asked him to do. But never did he expect that he'd eat a devil fruit, and truly become a devil.

"Alden… did you eat that fruit?" his mother asked gently. Alden nodded, saying it tasted nothing like a berry, which is what he thought it was. The horrified expression she wore frightened him, and he immediately shoved the fruit into her hands.

"You…you can have it! I was just tasting!" he stuttered. She covered her gaping mouth with her hands and backed away. Alden slowly walked towards her, not wanting her to leave him.

"Mama…what did I do?" he asked. She finally turned around and ran, leaving her son behind in the cold weather. Slamming shut the door of the small house they lived in, the atmosphere went completely quiet. Alden's eyes began to water as he made his way to the door.

"Mama! Please, I'm sorry! Why did you go?!" he yelled, knocking on the door harshly. Never again did that door open for him.

All that happened when he was a young ten year-old. He hadn't the slightest idea why he'd been abandoned. But he knew someone to ask. In utter sadness, he left the house he'd once called home and made his way to the town's strangest woman. She was known for her strange quirks and ways, and the rumors said she even knew magic.

"Uhm…ma'am?" Alden quietly walked into her store. It was cold and unwelcoming, which made Alden slightly nervous. She was sitting behind a counter, smoking.

"Ahhhhh! Customer!" she squealed, getting up. Alden was quick to tell her what had happened. She listened thoroughly before grabbing Alden by his shoulders and taking him outside.

"AH! What are you doing?!" he shrieked, wiggling helplessly.

"Can'ya swim?" she asked. Alden nodded. And with that, she mercilessly threw him into a cold lake. Alden struggled to stay floating, but he felt his energy being drained from him, making him unable to move his limbs properly.

"HE-HELP!" he screamed, splashing helplessly in the water.

"You ate a devil fruit, boy."

Once he was out and dry, he knew exactly why his mother had rejected him. The island they lived on had a legend. The legend said that if someone were to eat a devil fruit, he would bring upon his family misfortune and supposed deaths.

As he grew up, he decided to become a pirate. He know knew how to use his devil fruit abilities, and he wasn't planning on using them for good. He found his first mate, Adira. As soon as she'd joined him, surprisingly his sadness that had grown gradually throughout his life had decreased. Each time she called him by his name, and not by captain, a smile would make its way on his lips. Soon after that, Zane, his navigator, joined. The three of them had survived on the harsh seas for more than a year. Manipulating people with his abilities was his specialty. He only used his abilities for good when it came to his nakama. If they were unhappy, he'd use his powers to give him happy memories. But he had a purpose he wanted to fulfill. And that was to find Nico Robin.

"Why do you want her to join us so much?" Adira asked irritably. Alden sighed before sitting down and explaining everything to his two nakamas.

"You don't believe that the legend of your island is true?" Zane inquired before humming quietly. "So…everyone on the island thinks that's what the poneglyph says. And you want to prove them wrong. Your mother especially..."

Perhaps it was a silly thing to wish for, but that's what he had wanted to do throughout his life. And he could only do that with the help of the infamous devil child.

…..

**Robin POV**

"Go ahead and try, strawhat," Alden hissed. And the fights began. The banging of fists and clashing of swords made the ground rumble furiously. I sat quietly beside the poneglyph, still taking in the news that he'd given me.

"Memo-memo…fruit…" I whispered, feeling the stinging of tears forming in my eyes. "Does that mean…that I…"

"You didn't betray us, Robin!" Chopper yelled, making me snap out of my wandering mind. My tense shoulders relaxed. I felt the weight of the world quickly being lifted off me, which was the most relieving sensation anyone could possibly have.

"OI! LOOK OUT!' Franky shouted. I blinked a few times before dodging a kick that Alden had aimed at Luffy, which he'd avoided.

"Ah! Sorry, Robin!" Luffy apologized before throwing a bullet attack at Alden. Usopp had headed back to the ship, leaving Franky and Chopper to stay by my side. The fights seemed to last forever, and I wanted them to stop. I no longer cared what Alden did to me, I only wanted to give my crew a big, genuine hug. Luffy grabbed Alden by his neck and held him against the poneglyph.

"You made my nakama go through misery!" Luffy accused, his sharp eyes piercing through Alden's. Adira, who had been fighting against Zoro, quickly backed away from her fight. It was the first time I'd seen it, but she had a nervous look on her face as she looked at her captain being strangled by Luffy. Zane and Franky were making a huge racket, their fight still going.

"Alden…" she whispered, lowering her sword. Zoro was heaving in and out, trying to catch his breath. It was a matter of seconds before Luffy threw the last punch, but Adira had quickly made her way to her captain.

"STOP IT!" she yelled, a pleading look settling in her eyes. "Please, you don't understand."

Silence filled the air as I got up and walked towards them. Adira flashed me a glare, taking a step closer to Alden.

"Luffy," I began, putting my hand on his shoulder. "Do you mind?"

Luffy was hesitant. Slowly, he let go of Alden's neck and backed away, giving me the space to read the poneglyph on my own. It didn't say very much, actually. It was only a small message giving a few facts about the island.

"Tell me, Nico…" Alden whispered before throwing a coughing fit. "Tell me one thing. Does that rock say anything about a legend of devil fruit users?"

I gave him a quick shake of my head. Both him and Adira's troubled faces turned utterly happy.

"Captain…" Adira said, collapsing beside him. "Screw whoever rejected you. Zane and I are here."


	9. Gratitude

**Thank you for the support, everyone C:!  
**

…**..**

Zane was ordered by Alden to free me of the handcuffs, which took me by surprise. Despite that, I didn't want to get any more involved with that man, so I simply requested for me and the crew to leave.

"Alden," I said before we headed back to the Merry, "The guilt I've felt for the last month was pure torture. I have no idea what you've been through in your life, but I do know that your crew probably wants you to stop. It's clear they've been suffering with you."

And with that, we left. My mind had never been so at peace, and it was very relieving. Luffy was walking ahead of us, and I had a feeling he was angry. Weather it was at me or at Alden, I wasn't quite sure, but it was quite unnerving.

Deciding I wouldn't approach him yet, I looked over at Chopper and Franky, who were walking by me, and simply smiled. Franky nudged Chopper, and it seemed they had an understanding. Quietly, Chopper ran towards Usopp, leaving Franky and I alone.

It took him a while, but Franky finally approached me. "Nico Robin, I owe you an apology."

I knitted my eyebrows. "Whatever for?"

"For doubting you," he said, lowering his sunglasses to look at me. "I apologize."

Giving him a smile, I waved my hand. "Don't worry about it, Franky. It hasn't been very long since you joined us. And I was doubting myself much more than you were, so it's quite alright, I assure you."

As we walked, we were quiet. Franky broke the silence by pointing at Zoro, who was walking ahead of us.

"I have a feeling you need to talk to him," he said, the slightest hint of a smirk on his face. I looked away, nodding.

We got to the Sunny, and I was soon tackled by both Nami and Sanji.

"ROOOBIIIN!" Nami wailed between sobs.

"Robin-chwaan! I prepared you a meal as a welcome home!" Sanji cried out, wiggling despite himself. Robin chuckled, returning their hugs.

"I'm certainly hungry. Thank you, Sanji," she said, a broad smile making its way on her face.

"Robin!" Luffy broke the happy reunion with his stern voice. I turned my attention to him.

"Don't ever doubt yourself again! You would never do anything to hurt us, and you know that!"

Yes, I now knew that very well. "Hai, captain."

"Thank you, minna," I said to them all, "for having faith in me."

"Dummy," Nami said, her eyes softening. "It doesn't matter how many times you end up going away, we'd never let you leave."

Luffy then grinned, stretching his hands and surrounding the crew. "Heads up!"

Wrapping us all in a very uncomfortable hug, he laughed.

"Dammit, Luffy!" Zoro yelled.

"Can't…breathe," Chopper's voice peeped out from beneath us all.

"Franky, please get your hairy legs away from my head," Usopp requested, hardly able to talk from the position he was in.

"Gotta problem with my legs, long-nose?!"

"Shitty marimo! Your dumb hair's in my face!" Sanji snapped.

"Deal with it!"

"Luffy! Your hat's in my eye, you idiot!" Nami complained. Luffy simply chuckled, slowly freeing us from his tight embrace.

"Banquet!" Luffy announced, flinging himself into the kitchen.

"Don't eat the cake I just made, it's a special treat for Robin-chan! Oi…Luffy!" Sanji yelled, running after his captain.

With a laugh, I turned around. Zoro was standing quietly at the mass, his eyes starting to close. I made my way towards him.

Carefully, I brought my hand up to his head, just the way he'd done it. That got his full attention apparently, since not only did he open his eyes, he also grabbed his katana.

When he realized it was only me, he quickly backed away, causing my hand to fall off his head.

A slight horrified expression was etched on his face.

"What's up with that, woman?!" he snapped.

"I believe it was my right to do that," I told him, tilting my head in amusement. Once he collected himself, he leaned back on the mass again.

"Geez," he mumbled.

"What you said gave me some hope, Zoro," I began. "Even if I found myself lying in a pit of helplessness, your speech still echoed at the back of my mind. I want to thank you for that."

Before I had the chance to utter another word, he looked up at me and shook his head.

"You should know by now that thanking us isn't needed," he told me. "Having everyone safe is enough. So don't go thinking you're obligated to say anything."

He cleared his throat before pushing himself away from them mass and walking towards the kitchen, where everyone had already gathered.

He truly was a man of his kind.


End file.
